Album: The Black Keys + Various Rappers - BlakRoc

This is by far the hottest rap collaboration of the last 5 years. Check out the preview trailer below to get excited for the album/collaborative project BlakRoc, to be released on Black Friday this year (Nov, 27). In a nutshell the concept is: Damon Dash (co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records) brings together famous rap/r&b artists [Billy Danze of M.O.P., Jim Jones, Nicole Wray, NOE, Ludacris, Mos Def, ODB, Pharoahe Monch, Q-Tip, Raekwon, & RZA] to collaborate on making an album produced by the blues-rock duo The Black Keys. Sounds crazy? No, it sounds so good I CAN'T STOP LISTENING. Check it below.



Here is the first SINGLE off the album by Jim Jones featuring Mos Def.

Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)

Jim Jones surprised me on this one with some poetic lyrics and Mos Def killed the chorus, both building on the heavy Black Keys beat with an old timey feel. So raw...

"You told me pain only shows you where you're going
You get the laughter and that shows you where you been
And when you get the cash that only shows you how to sin
Like when you getting fast money and you blow it in the wind

Where we from success one in a million
We thought success was getting money in front the building
End of the summer we was counting up the killings
Like they killed baby boy, tried to run up in the building - now

Love, I bruised one of her rose petals
She was from the concrete, came up out the cold ghetto
But so gentle, but it appears like
On a clear light it could thunder storm, want some more?"

-->YES I DO.

11 tracks, 11 artists, . Let the countdown to Black Friday begin.

Pre-Order the album HERE
More videos of the studio sessions HERE

*I will post the album for download when it is released*

Concerts: October 2009

Duck Down Crew

I got 4 juicy October concert listings for my New York area folks that might make you spend some money in this recession...

Who: AUDIBLE TREATS CMJ SHOWCASE: SOULS OF MISCHIEF, TANYA MORGAN, TRINITY (A.G., Sadat X, DJ Jab), KAM MOYE aka SUPASTITION, ODDISEE
When: Thursday, October 22, 2009 9:00 PM
Where: Southpaw, Brooklyn
Ages: 18 and over
How Much: $5 advance/$10 day of show
Why you should go: Because underground hip hop lives in Brooklyn and it just feels so raw
Website

Who: Duck Down Showcase: Blue Scholars, Smif-N-Wessun, Buckshot, 9th Wonder, Da Beatminerz, Sean Price, Ruste Juxx, Skyzoo, Team Facelift, Kidz In The Hall, and Marco Polo & Torae
When: Saturday, October 24, 2009 9:00 PM
Where: The Gramercy Theatre, New York
Ages: 16 and over
How Much: Who cares? But seriously…$20
Why you should go: It’s actually not possible to fit all of these awesome rappers on the same stage. The universe might collapse on itself so enjoy this concert while we still exist. Oh yeah, and I'll be there.
Website

Who: Snoop Dogg, Redman, and Method Man
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:00 PM
Where: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
Ages: All? But shouldn’t be.
How Much: $40, but you know Ticketmaster, so that means $50 and parking is $6
Why you should go: Some of the coolest rappers to ever grace a stage come together to have a concert / cannabis cup.
Website

Who: CORMEGA with special guests LARGE PROFESSOR, HAVOC, FEME, LES, PREMIER, PETE ROCK, DR PERIOD, BUCKWILD
When: Thursday, October 29, 2009 9:00 PM
Where: SOB’s, New York
Ages: 21 and over
How Much: $15 at door
Why you should go: CD release party for Cormega’s New Album “Born & Raised”. For fifteen bucks at the door and all those guests, this would spice up anyone’s Thursday night.
Website

Think it over with this new video from Blue Scholars about Hawaii. And watch Sabzi eating throughout the whole video.

Filet-o-Mix 02 - Jay-Z - The BLACK[EST] Album

Download

1. Intro [Pete Rock – The Black Album (Pete Rock Remixes) – 1:48]
2. December 4th [9th Wonder – Black is Back – 4:14]
3. What More Can I Say [9th Wonder – Black is Back – 3:39]
4. Encore [Jay-Z – The Black Album – 4:15] *Produced by Kanye West*
5. Change Clothes [Hasan Insane - The Pink Album – 4:21]
6. Dirt Off Your Shoulder [Kno – Kno vs. HOV: The White Al-bu-lum - 3:33]
7. Threat [Jay-Z – The Black Album – 4:07] *Produced by 9th Wonder*
8. Moment of Clarity [Hasan Insane - The Pink Album – 4:31]
9. 99 Problems [DJ Roli Fingaz: Fire Blends Pt. 7: Best of Jay-Z – 2:14]
10. Public Service Announcement [Jay-Z – The Black Album – 2:53] *Produced by Just Blaze*
11. Justify [Bach Logic – The Red Album – 3:56]
12. Lucifer [Danger Mouse – The Purple Album – 3:08]
13. Allure [Jay-Z – S. Carter The Re-Mix – 5:49]
14. My First Song [Jay-Z – The Black Album – 4:44] *Produced by Aqua & Joe “3H” Weinberger*
15. No More To Say (Bonus) [Bach Logic – The Red Album - 2:27]

This Filet-o-Mix is a special one because it was created through the work of a team. With the help of my two junior year college roommates, Wes and Antoine, the three of us put together what we feel is the ultimate compilation of remixes of Jay-Z's The Black Album. But before we get too much into the mix, you first need some background on this classic album. This will give you an idea about why The Black Album spawned a unique proliferation of remix albums that spans almost every color in the visual spectrum.

Jay-Z released arguably one of his best CD’s, The Black Album, in 2003 and separately released an A Cappella version of the album later that year. This turned out to be a masterful decision on his part because it sparked a whole movement of producers (some famous / some not) who tried their hand at remixing the hell out of Jay-Z’s phenomenal lyrics…and remix they did. Even well respected producers such as Kno of the CunninLynguists and 9th Wonder, formerly of Little Brother, released their own remix albums (The White Al-bu-lum & Black is Back, respectively) creating beats specifically for the project. Other DJ’s made “mash-ups” out of Jay-Z’s work, which are combinations of other people’s beats with lyrics from The Black Album A Cappella. Two noteworthy mash-ups are The Silver Album remixed by Bazooka Joe using RJD2 beats and The Black Album Pete Rock Remixes mixed by Quo. Of course, the most famous mash-up to date (that ended up putting DJ Danger Mouse on the map) is The Grey Album, which mixed The White Album by The Beatles with Jay-Z’s The Black Album (hence Grey). What was planned to be Jay-Z’s final album before retiring from rap music turned out to be more than HOV could have even imagined.

Getting back to MY remix album. After I had downloaded approximately 10+ remix albums, I was finally ready to do what I do best and sort through all of these songs to bring you the best of each Jay-Z track and compile them all into what I have dubbed The BLACK[EST] Album.

This is a public service announcement sponsored by Mike Fileti and the good folks formerly at room 1512…

Contributions
Antoine: The Red Album (JPN Import)
Wes: The Pink Album & The Purple Album

Filet-o-Mix 01 – Love: The Most Dangerous Game

Download "Love: The Most Dangerous Game" HERE

Tracklist

01 Eyedea&Abilities - Paradise
02 Tonedeff - Porcelain
03 I Self Divine - Love Song
04 DL Incognito - This Song
05 Little Brother - Starship
06 Shawn Wigs - Gotta Hold On Feat. Eamon
07 Common & Will.I.Am - I Want You
08 Looptroop - Fly Away Up To The Sky
09 The Roots - The Notic
10 Fort Minor - Whered You Go (Feat. Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga)
11 People Under The Stairs - More Than You Know
12 Atmosphere - Don't Ever Fucking Question That
13 Emanon - She Thinks
14 The Procussions - Miss January
15 CunninLynguists - Love Ain't (Remix)
16 Rjd2 & Vast Aire - The F Word (Remix)
17 Immortal Technique - You Never Know Feat. Jean Grae

This is the first official Filet-o-Mixtape people…and I promise it won’t be the last. Some of them will be random assortments of great songs, but most will be themed such as this one. The theme of this compilation is breakups and heartbreak. I’m positive that anyone who has gone through a rough breakup can relate to most of these songs and will appreciate the emotions they evoke.

For a few years I have been fascinated with the universal phenomenon of “falling in love”. In college, I had the chance to do a research project paralleling the neurobiology of drug addiction and romantic love and found that the two are extremely similar in how they overpower the brain’s reward circuitry to form addictions. This is why breakups from long-term relationships are so hard on people; because essentially you are overcoming an addiction to another person. Also, romantic love brings out the most extreme emotions from both sides of the spectrum, whether it be feelings of euphoria or eventual hatred towards another person. This strong emotional aspect is why love is the most popular topic of all in music. However, there are far fewer songs in rap music about love and breakups probably because the genre is seen as very masculine and writing songs about emotional highs and heartache are typically seen as a sign of weakness. However, in my opinion, rap songs about heartache and pain tell a very personal story that delves deep into human complexity. And rap is an amazing form of expression for conveying that depth.

On a side note about rappers with hurt feelings, check out the video by Flight Of The Conchords below.

The addiction aspect of being in love and going through several breakups myself has made me reanalyze my own definition of love and has made me much more cautious when "playing" this most dangerous game. I now bring you a compilation of the best rap songs I know of on the topic of heartache. I hope you will enjoy their complexity and the nostalgia that they arouse as I have for some time now.

In the words of Tonedeff: “Use caution and know that love ain’t nothing but a loss of control, off then we go…"